New to miles and points travel? Check out Beginner’s Guide: 7 Steps to Free Travel with Miles and Points.
When it comes to credit cards with travel rewards, they’re not all created equal. Some banks have better transfer partners and more options to use your points. So when a beginner asks me what credit card they should get to start earning rewards for free travel, I have a favorite card that I always recommend. And, now my favorite card has a higher welcome bonus!
Chase Sapphire Preferred Card 75,000 Bonus
The Chase Sapphire Preferred Card now has a limited time welcome bonus of 75,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. While this is not the highest bonus we’ve ever seen for this card, it’s a nice increase from the prior 60,000 bonus that has been offered in recent years. This is the #1 card I recommend for beginners. Full disclosure–we do make a commission on this card if you apply through our affiliate link, and we appreciate your support of our small business!
- Earn 75,000 points after spending $4000 in the first 3 months. That’s worth at least $937 in free travel!
- 5X points on travel purchases through Chase Travel
- 3X points on dining, select streaming services and online groceries
- 2X on other travel purchases
- 1X on all other purchases
- $95 annual fee is partially offset by a $50 Chase Travel Hotel Credit
- Trip insurance benefits
- Complimentary DashPass with $0 delivery fees on DoorDash
What Can You Do with 75,000 Chase points?
With the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card, you can use your points to book travel in the Chase Travel portal at a value of 1.25 cents per point. So 75,000 points is worth $937.50 worth of flights, hotels or car rentals that you book through the travel portal.
But for even better value, you can transfer your Chase points to 14 travel partners to book award travel:
- Aer Lingus, AerClub
- Air Canada Aeroplan
- British Airways Executive Club
- Emirates Skywards
- Air France/KLM Flying Blue
- Iberia Plus
- JetBlue TrueBlue
- Singapore Airlines KrisFlyer
- Southwest Airlines Rapid Rewards
- United MileagePlus
- Virgin Atlantic Flying Club
- IHG One Rewards
- Marriott Bonvoy
- World of Hyatt
My favorite transfer partners are Hyatt, Air France/KLM Flying Blue and British Airways. Examples of how far 75,000 points will get you with some transfer partners:
- 1 round-trip ticket from USA to Japan on Japan Airlines when booked through British Airways
- 1 round-trip tickets from DFW to Madrid in Premium Economy on Iberia when booked through Iberia or British Airways
- 3-4 free nights at many nice Hyatt hotels, including Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa
- and many more possibilities!
Who is Eligible for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card
If you’ve opened 5 or more new credit cards in the past 24 months, Chase will not likely approve you for this card. Also, you can’t get the sign-up bonus if you’ve received it on any Chase Sapphire card within the past 48 months (see more info here).
Final Thoughts
If you’ve been thinking about opening a new credit card to start earning free travel rewards, now is a great time with this increased bonus on the Chase Sapphire Preferred card!
Author: Nancy
Nancy lives near Dallas, Texas, with her husband and three kids. Her favorite vacations include the beach, cruising and everything Disney.
SARA PUGH says
WOOHOOO! i got it!
i used to have it years ago but cancelled because i didnt want the annual fee. I regretted that. After trying a few times w/ rejections, i tried again today and got it! yay!!!!
Nancy says
@Sara That’s fantastic news! Enjoy those points!